The Politika Ekspres daily said: "Everything began well but the soccer magic was destroyed by a single French referee."

Harsh

The papers claimed Veissiere wrongly awarded the Spaniards a penalty, was harsh in sending Slavisa Jokanovic, and added seven minutes of extra time after five were signalled by the fourth official.

The Vecernje Novosti compared the referee to Bernard Kouchner, the French head of the United Nations/Nato peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Veissiere: confronted and hit by a coin

The Belgrade Government blames Koucher for allowing ethnic attacks on Serbs in the province and accuses him of anti-Serb bias.

On a more positive note, the Dutch embassy in Belgrade has taken out an advertisement in Vecernje Novosti, saying its visa department will work extra hours to enable more Yugoslavs to attend Euro 2000.

Yugoslavia could yet be in trouble with Uefa over the conduct of its supporters during the game against Spain.

European football's governing body came down hard when English fans caused violence in Brussels and Charleroi, threatening to throw England out of Euro 2000.